Judge Gleason, the Southern District of NY judge overseeing the multi-district Visa/MasterCard antitrust litigation disagreed with his magistrate and dismissed a claim by the merchant plaintiffs that MasterCard’s IPO unlawfully lessened competition under Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The complaint alleged that the IPO was a sham to create the appearance that MasterCard was […]
Category Archives: Merger Review
Anheuser-Busch-InBev Merger Approved in US, UK and China
November 30, 2008 – 3:58 pm
Update May 2009: Belgium antitrust authorities briefly examined InBev’s pricing practices, finding no anticompetitive conduct. Update: November 2008: US, UK, and Chinese antitrust authorties approved the InBev-Anheuser-Busch merger. In the US, the merged entity was required to license its Labatt brand to a third party for production and sale in the US and was prohibited […]
Google/Yahoo The Deal’s Off
November 8, 2008 – 2:23 pm
Update: The deal is off the table. Rather than face an antitrust battle, Google has pulled out. After stating that they would not delay implementation of their advertising deal beyond a contractually agreed October 11 deadline, the the European Commission’s announcement that it had opended in investigation has apparently led Google and Yahoo reconsider. Both […]
DOJ Files Complaint & Proposed Settlement in Verizon Merger
November 7, 2008 – 2:21 pm
The Antitrust Division filed a complaint and proposed settlement requiring Verizon to divest its cellular business in 22 states to ensure continued competition after it acquires Alltel. The FCC has approved the deal.
DOJ Won’t Challenge Delta-Northwest Merger
November 7, 2008 – 12:51 pm
The Antitrust Division closed its investigation of the proposed merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the number 3 and 5 carriers in the United States. In doing so, the Division joined in European counterpart in concluding that the union would not substantially lesson competition. Overlapping routes were mininmal, the Division said, and adequate […]
FTC Sues to Block Off-Shore Oil Waste Disposal Acquisition
October 28, 2008 – 2:43 pm
The FTC has sought a temporary restraining order in the Southern District of Texas to block the acquisition of Newpark Environmental Services by CCS Corp. while proceeding before the FTC go forward. Both companies provide waste disposal services to the offshore oil and gas industry. The FTC claims that the companies are close competitors and […]
DOJ Challenged Beef Packing Merger
October 22, 2008 – 9:41 am
Earlier this year, JBS SA, the third largest beef packer in the US, acquired National Beef Packing and Smithfield, the fourth and fifth largest packers, respectively. The Antitrust Division filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois challenging JBS’s acquisition of National Beef, but not Smithfield. The acquisition would create the largest beef packer with […]
FTC Seeks to Block Estimatics Systems Merger
April 1, 2008 – 3:11 pm
Update March 2009: The parties decided to abandon the merger. The FTC voted 3-0 with one Commissioner recusing to challenge the $1.4 billion merger between two of the three providers of systems used to estimate the value of junk autos and crash repairs. The Commission contended that it would lessen competition by making collusion more […]